A Study In Friendship
by tonilouise95
Summary: Kid!lock. Lots of fluff! Started out as a single one-shot but now I've decided to extended it to a series of one-shots following John and Sherlock as they grow up together. As always, would love to hear your opinions! I hope you enjoy!
1. First Meeting

**First Meeting.**

The noise of the playground rang in his ears as he made his way to the slide with a book tucked under his arm. The top of the slide was like a fort and it was his favourite spot. There was a new, bigger slide so the other children didn't bother with this one as much. He liked that.

He climbed up and then sat with his legs swinging over the edge, observing the scene around him. There were children everywhere, screaming, running and smiling together. He felt a pang inside him then but shook his head, he liked to be alone. It was better; he told himself and opened his book. The playground was soon forgotten as he was lost in the imaginary world.

Across the playground a blonde haired boy in a stripy jumper, stopped his game of tag to look at the boy on the slide. _'He looks so... alone'. _He thought to himself sadly.

"Tag, you're it!" His friend bumped into him and quickly spun away.

"Who's that boy?" He pointed, the game forgotten.

"No one knows. He's a weirdo anyway." She replied. This made him frown, and he started for the slide. His friends called out to him but he ignored them, they didn't follow. As he climbed up the steps, he noticed that the lonely boy was younger than him, but they were almost the same height. His dark hair was all unruly curls which stuck out at all angles and his eyes were fixed on the pages of the book in his hand.

"Whatcha reading?" The older boy asked lightly, only to be ignored. He sat down next to the strange boy, allowing his legs to swing.

"What's your name?" This time he got a reaction, bright blue eyes flicked up to his face and considered him for a minute, the eyes looked a bit scared. Again there was no reply.

"Well I'm John Watson! Nice to meet you." He held out his hand, the younger boy just looked at it.

"My dad says that's how you should greet someone. Offer them a handshake." John continued as the boy took it slowly.

"My name's Sherlock... Holmes." He mumbled quietly.

"That's a cool name! I've never met a Sherlock before." John smiled at him and Sherlock found himself giving a gappy smile back.

"What book is that?" John asked pointing to the open pages still in Sherlock's hands.

"Treasure Island, it's my favourite." Sherlock admitted. John hadn't heard of it so he changed the subject.

"How old are you? I'm seven and a half! What's your favourite colour? Mines green."

"I'm six, and blue is my favourite colour," Sherlock looked past John then and continued "your friends want you to go play again." John looked round and found they were, indeed being watched.

"Where are your friends?" He asked Sherlock. The younger boys face fell then and he looked down at his book frowning.

"I don't have any." He whispered, almost to himself.

"But you must have! Everybody has friends." John said happily but Sherlock remained quiet.

"Everyone thinks I'm weird." he eventually said.

"Well I don't think you are. You're not weird to me." John offered him another smile.

"I see things differently though." Sherlock admitted, sounding ashamed.

"How?"

Sherlock looked at him, his eyes big and searching.

"I know that's your favourite jumper. It's old and your mum has fixed holes in it before."

John's eyes went wide as Sherlock continued.

"It's very worn, the sleeves are a bit too short. And I can see where it's been sewn again." He reached out and touched one of the repairs near the elbow. Sherlock looked up to see Johns face was shocked.

"I'm sorry!" He snatched his hand away quickly. "Mummy says I shouldn't do that. That's why no one likes me." He looked away then and dropped his hand into his lap, the same sad look which had sparked John's curiosity, spread across his face.

"That's. So. Cool!" John's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. He had pulled his jumper round to inspect the repair, sure enough; it was a slightly different colour thread than the rest.

"Can I be your friend?" John asked enthusiastically. Sherlock's face lit up

"Really?"

"Yeah!"

"Okay, I'd like that." Sherlock nodded.

John grinned at him then and stood up. He took Sherlock's wrist and tugged on him, pulling him to his feet gently.

"Race ya to the swings!" He cried and disappeared down the slide. Sherlock went after him, and then they were running together. John reached the swings first with Sherlock not far behind. They both stood for a moment out of breath then they laughed together.

"I win!" John said happily.

"No fair! You had a head start!" Sherlock protested. John laughed some more.

"Come on, I want you to meet my friends." Sherlock followed him over to a group of two boys and two girls. John introduced them. "Everyone, this is my new friend, Sherlock. He's really cool and he's six and his favourite colour is blue." He said proudly.

He pointed to one of the girls who looked shy. "That's Molly Hooper." she flashed Sherlock a quick smile then looked down, going slightly red. "That's Gregory Lestrade." John continued.

The fair haired boy gave a friendly smile. "Hello!" he said and gave a little wave.

"That's Mike Stamford." Mike gave a small smile. "And that's Sally Donovan" John finished. Sally did not smile at Sherlock but instead just looked at him unhappily; she clearly didn't want any new members added to their group. Especially not one she thought was weird.

Sherlock offered them all a small smile but truthfully he was nervous about meeting new people. He didn't go to the same school and this was the first time anyone had really spoken to him, other than to call him names.

It was then that two boys walked over, one had dark hair and the other was blonde. The blonde boy was a few years older than everyone there and stood behind the darker haired boy looking menacing.

"What's this? Sherlock finally found some friends?"

Everyone knew who it was and knew that he meant trouble. His name was Jim Moriarty or James Moriarty, depending on what day it was, he liked to switch between the two. No one liked him because he was a bully but no one was brave enough to stand up to him, especially not when he had the older boy; Sebastian Moran, there to back him up.

He walked over to Sherlock then, and stared at him coldly. He knocked the book from his hand suddenly and laughed. Sherlock went to pick it up but Jim pushed him over. The curly haired boy fell backwards and landed with a thud. Sally giggled behind him. Sherlock kept his eyes averted, feeling anger build inside him, this wasn't the first time Jim had picked on him.

"You can't have friends." Jim told him. Sherlock stood then and looked like he would hit the boy but he faltered and got shoved back down again, this time he grazed his hands painfully as he caught himself. The anger left him, replaced with sadness suddenly and his eyes began to sting.

"Hey! You leave him alone!" A voice called out and then John was standing over him.

"What are you going to do about it?" Sebastian sneered behind Jim.

"I'm not scared of you! You're nothing but a bully. And my mum says bullies always get what's coming to them." John stood defiantly, his fists clenched.

Jim and Sebastian moved forward but then Gregory joined John and folded his arms, then Molly and Mike were there also. Sally hung back however. They formed a barrier between the bullies and Sherlock, who was still on the ground.

"You mess with him; you mess with all of us. He's our friend." Gregory told them boldly as John helped Sherlock to his feet. The bullies, seeing they were outnumbered, backed away.

"This isn't over." Jim said, pointing at Sherlock as he walked away.

"Don't worry about him, you've got us now." John told him warmly. "Friends stick together." Everyone nodded their agreement and Sherlock grinned happily, it felt good to be accepted.

"Sherlock!" A voice called from across the playground, it was a boy of about fourteen, he didn't look too happy. Sherlock's face fell as he recognised the voice.

"That's my brother. Sorry, I have to go now." He looked a bit flustered and started towards his brother. John called out to him

"Same time tomorrow?" Sherlock turned back with a smile

"Yes! I'll be here."


	2. The Birth of a Great Friendship

**The Birth of a Great Friendship**

Sherlock was heading towards the playground. The argument with Mycroft yesterday was swirling round his head, making him clench his fists angrily. Mycroft had asked once they got home, who the children were he'd been with,

"They're my friends." Sherlock had replied still feeling very happy, but Mycroft had considered him in a way which instantly took the smile from his face.

"Sherlock... Friends are, ah, complicated." He had started slowly. "People like us, we don't have friends."

"Well I do." Sherlock had replied stubbornly.

"No, we're different from them, Sherlock. You know this, and they know too. You never did fit in and you never will because they won't really let you, they'll never properly accept you."

"MAYBE I DON'T WANT TO BE DIFFERENT!" Sherlock had shouted at him then.

"I am just trying to stop you getting hurt!" Mycroft snapped back. "You're too young and naive to understand!"

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" Sherlock had shoved him then, his blood boiling.

"What's going on?" A soothing voice had interrupted them then, before Mycroft could retaliate. It was their mother. The anger was gone instantly and Sherlock ran to her, burying his head into her for comfort. "What's wrong?" She asked gently, stroking Sherlock's wild hair.

"Mycroft won't let me have friends." He had mumbled against her.

"Oh darling, don't you worry about your brother. Now, tell me about these friends." She said as she lifted him to her hip, she shot Mycroft a warning glance as he went to argue.

-§-

Sherlock angrily wiped his eyes as he reached the playground.

'I WILL have friends. Mycroft is wrong about them.' He thought determinedly. The playground wasn't too busy and as Sherlock glanced round, he couldn't see John anywhere. His face fell and he made his way to the swings, his brother's words ringing in his ears again. He sat on a swing, his head down, he felt dejected and he was angry with himself for not bringing a book to keep him company. Suddenly a pair of hands reached round and covered his eyes, fear jolted through Sherlock and he let out a cry.

"Surprise!" A voice rang out, the hands were removed and he turned to see John grinning at him.

"Don't do that!" Sherlock laughed and playfully shoved John.

"Sorry, couldn't resist!" He grinned and took the swing beside Sherlock. John noticed the slight redness to Sherlock's eyes, "What's wrong? You look sad."

"Where are the others?" Sherlock asked quickly changing the subject. John just shrugged,

"Not everyone can come here every day, maybe they had homework?"

"Don't you have homework?" Sherlock asked him. John gave him a mischievous grin and said

"Yeah but I'll do it later! I knew you'd be here." Sherlock returned the smile. "Tell me why you looked sad!" John insisted. Sherlock sighed

"I have a brother…"

"Don't worry, I have a younger sister_._ She's four._ Urgh!"_ John exclaimed dramatically. "I wish I had a brother, want to swap?" Sherlock giggled,

"You don't want _my _brother."

"Well you don't want _my _sister!" John replied and they laughed together. "Maybe we should be brothers together and they wouldn't be able to bother us."

"Yeah! We'd show them." Sherlock replied happily. They sat together on the swings for a moment, both lost in their own imaginations. "What are we going to do today then?" Sherlock asked John after a while. He hadn't really got the chance to play with others before so he was uncertain.

"I don't know… hey do you want to come to my house for tea?" John asked suddenly. Sherlock bit his bottom lip and his eyebrows furrowed.

"I would have to ask Mummy, and she's not picking me up yet."

"You could use our phone to ring her once you get there?"

Sherlock shifted uneasily, he didn't want to disappoint his friend but he hadn't done anything like this before. He was worried about how his family would react, John noticed his hesitation."Do you know the number?"

Sherlock closed his eyes then nodded, "Yes, I remember it."

"Come on then! Let's goooo!" John tugged his arm and headed towards the gate a little, Sherlock lagged behind. "What's wrong? Don't you want to come?" He sounded sad.

"I do! I do! I'm just worried." Sherlock admitted, John trotted back over to him and clapped his shoulder

"Repeat after me!" He instructed "it's all fine."

"It's all fine."

"There, now come on!" This time John dragged Sherlock behind him regardless and soon they were running again. They laughed together as they ran, letting the energy flow through them. They made it very quickly to John's home, Sherlock realised he'd never been to that street before and repeated how they got there in his head so he'd remember it. Going up to the door, he dropped back again.

"What's up?" John looked back at him, his hand on the handle.

"Nothing." Sherlock replied and walked up beside him, they entered.

"Mum?" John called. "MUM?"

"Yes, dear? You're home early!" A voice called from inside the house. John turned his bright face to Sherlock and bundled him along in front of him.

"I've brought a friend with me, Mum! Can he stay for dinner?" They entered the kitchen and Mrs. Watson was busy with the washing. She turned towards the boys and Sherlock noticed how much John looked like her. She smiled warmly at him.

"Of course you can stay! What's your name?"

"Sherlock." He mumbled slightly,

"Oh! John was telling me about you yesterday! I wondered when we'd meet. John says you're very smart-"

"Muuuuum!" John complained. "He needs to use the phone to tell his Mum he's here."

"What's the magic word?"

"Pleeeeeeease!" John said with effort, his Mum seemed to be satisfied with that.

"Oh don't worry dear, you give me the number and I will ring her for you." She told Sherlock, he smiled shyly at her.

"Thank you." He said

"Oh, so polite! You could learn a few things from him, John." She ruffled her son's hair; he stuck his tongue out in reply.

"Want to see my room?" John grinned at Sherlock then. He nodded and they ran upstairs together.

John threw open the door proudly and walked in, Sherlock followed him closely. John sat on the bed and watched as Sherlock took in all the details.

The room was a fair size, its walls were painted a light blue. Hanging from the ceiling, which was covered in glow-in-the-dark stars, were a number of Airfix model planes. They were all different types, but mostly from WWI and WWII. The walls of the room featured quite a few framed photographs of John and his family. The room was tidy with the bed in one corner, a wardrobe and a chest of drawers were the only other furniture sitting along the opposite wall. A cream coloured carpet covered the floor and in the middle of the room was a rug shaped like a car.

"What do you think? I got the bigger room, because I'm the oldest." John was obviously very proud of this fact.

"It's very cool!" Sherlock replied, "I like your models!"

"Yeah me and my Dad do them together. I like planes." Sherlock nodded his agreement and moved to sit on the bed beside his friend. "Wanna play cowboys and Indians?" John asked him as he dragged a box from under his bed. Sherlock nodded again. John pulled out a feathered headdress and handed it to Sherlock. "You can be the Indian!" Sherlock pulled it over his curly hair and smiled. John put on a sheriff badge, a cowboy hat and got a toy gun. Sherlock received a tomahawk and a bow. "I lost the arrows. But we can pretend." John said sheepishly. They hurriedly set up cushions and blankets to create barriers to hide behind and 'shoot' at each other over.

Downstairs, Johns Mum shook her head as she listened to the war cries and the shouts of "pow, pow, bang!" which drifted through the ceiling. She could also hear the giggling that came from both boys, she laughed as well.

"Gotcha!" John shouted "You're dead!"

"Nuh uh!" Sherlock argued.

"Yeah huh!"

"Nuh uh!

"YEAH HUH! I'm the best shot in the entire West! Yeeehaw!" John cried victorious.

"I'm barely injured! You can't kill an Indian Chief such as me!" Sherlock shouted back from behind his pillow shield. They both giggled then.

"Can I play?" A voice interrupted from the door. Both of the boys poked their heads over the barricades to look.

"Get out Harriet!" John shouted at his younger sister. He walked over to her and tried to push her out of the room ruggedly.

"I wanna play!" She protested loudly and shoved back against John.

"No! You're too young and you're a _girl_. Go away!"

"John, be nice to your sister!" Their mother called up the stairs. John rolled his eyes and blew out his breath as Harriet looked pleased with herself. John stopped pushing his little sister and walked over to the chest of drawers. Both Sherlock and Harriet watched him curiously. He produced a small white box and walked back over to his sister.

"What' that?" she asked, eyeing the box warily.

"A SPIDER!" John lifted the lid and flicked the contents towards his sister; it was indeed a large spider. Harriet let out a high pitched squeal and ran from the room as fast as she could. John fell about laughing and Sherlock joined in. Once they had recovered John looked about but the spider was nowhere to be seen. It had been worth it though he thought gleefully; he'd have to catch another one for next time.

"Where were we?" John asked then and suddenly Sherlock barged into him and they wrestled. The battle would come down to hand-to-hand combat it seemed. They both fell over and rolled across the floor grappling each other.

"It's a tie! It's a tie!" John laughed when he'd had enough. Sherlock smiled and they disentangled themselves. Both of them lay side by side, out of breath, but with massive smiles on their faces.

"You're my best friend, you know that?" John turned his head towards Sherlock, Sherlock turned his bright eyes towards him and they were shiny with moisture.

"You're my best friend too. We'll always be friends, right?"

"Always." John confirmed.

"Boys! Dinner!" A call came from downstairs.

"Yeah!" John cried and got to his feet quickly. "Last one there smells like rotten eggs!" He ran out of the door and Sherlock tore after him. They reached the table almost at the same time, shoving each other as they went.

"Easy!" John's Mum scolded gently, they both sat down as she placed two plates of chicken nuggets, potato smiley faces and beans. "Now you had best eat it all, then there will be jelly and ice cream for afters." She watched as they both tucked in eagerly.

It wasn't long after they had finished eating that Sherlock's Mum came to pick him up. As the two adults chatted together about boring things, John turned to Sherlock, "Can't you stay a little longer?" he pleaded. Sherlock shook his head sadly.

"Don't worry, John. We'll have Sherlock around again soon. He's been a delight." His mum said gently.

With that they said their goodbyes, and vowed to see each other again. Sherlock went home and for the first time he felt truly contented. There was a smile on his face that he couldn't shift and it was all because of his best friend, John.


End file.
